Replying to LO24414 --
In a message dated 4/24/00 12:10:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
dpdash@ximb.ac.in writes:
> Sometimes, an action can be an anticipatory
> response to someone else's assumed motivation! These considerations
> suggest to me that 'motivation' might be quite like the hypothetical
> entity called aether: believed in the 19th century to be a medium that
> fills all space.
I find this to be an interesting point. However, it seems that we
define motivation first and then decide where it applies. Defining a
concept by talking about what it is and what it is not, is usually
inductive and confusing.
With regard to "motivation" or "what moves us" I would like to refer to
that old psychological debate between the deterministic view of Sigmund
Freud and the immanent teleology of Alfred Adler. More specifically, is
our behavior "caused" by something, such as the Freudian unconscious, or
does our behavior have "purpose" as found in the writing of Adler, and the
concept of the "un-understood" (i.e., we really understand what we try to
not be aware of). Under the heading of "Origin of Power" I would suggest
that all behavior has purpose in line with self-created goals that are
only influenced by the past frames of reference. As Adler stated so well,
we are both the artist AND the masterpiece, we paint our own picture and
the picture influences what we paint next.
Warm regards, David
David L. Hanson, Ph.D.
Consulting Psychologist
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